April 2013: Mural, Bobcat sculpture adorn Bel Air

Sights, sounds and action from the 103rd running of My Lady's Manor Steeplechase horse race, held in Harford County on Saturday, April 13. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group video)

Sights, sounds and action from the 103rd running of My Lady's Manor Steeplechase horse race, held in Harford County on Saturday, April 13. (Jon Sham/Baltimore Sun Media Group video)

ROBIN BENJES, Aegis staff

Mountain Christian Church was considering opening a site in the former home of Fountain of Life Fellowship Church in Edgewood off of Pulaski Highway. The site would be the second satellite location for Mountain Christian, the first is at John Carroll.

Two men were arrested in Harford County, both being charged with four counts of counterfeit credit cards. They were pulled over in Harford County on I-95 for speeding. A State Police trooper searched the car and found 21 credit cards wrapped in a rubber band in a hidden compartment inside the center console.

Peter Franchot, State Comptroller of Maryland, pledged he will not penalize businesses who had been victims of financial fraud by Accu-Pay of Bel Air. Accu-Pay was being investigated for collecting payroll taxes, but not forwarding those taxes to the state and federal governments.

The county's paid ambulance responders would now be obligated to pay union dues. The Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Foundation recently signed a contract with the union - The International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4847 - which requires paid non-management employees of the Fire and EMS Foundation to pay the monthly dues.

The county moves forward on a plan to raze 18 homes on Route 22 in Aberdeen between Beards Hill and Paradise roads. The demolition of the homes are part of a BRAC-related intersection improvement project along Route 22 from I-95 to Aberdeen Proving Ground.

Rebecca Gault, a Bel Air Middle School teacher, was announced as one of five 2013 inductees into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. She is the third teacher chosen in three years from Maryland and the first woman. As a Hall of Fame inductee, Gault was awarded a $10,000 tablet and software package from Digidoo for classroom use, $1,000 in educational materials from Pearson Education and a National Teachers Hall of Fame pin and ring from Herff Jones Company.

Harford County Public Schools announced schools would close for the summer three days earlier than expected. Three of their inclement weather days were the result of Hurricane Sandy. Dr. Lillian Lowery, the State Superintendent of Schools, issued a waiver for the three days statewide.

The painting of a mural began on the north wall of the Harford County Sheriff's Office on Main Street. The mural will depict the courthouse square as it looked prior to the 1950s, when a house stood on the site of the sheriff's building, in front of the old jail which is still standing. The mural is being painted by Marshall Adams and being paid for by the Town of Bel Air.

Rocks State Park reported an extensive amount of paint that was spilled around the area of Kilgore Falls. The paint was dripping from many of the rocks around the area. The police asked for help in locating the suspects.

Waste Industries, which owns and operates Harford Sanitation Services, acquired Alley Cat Trash Removal. It was not known if Alley Cat had closed, but customers complained that they were told that there would be no more trash collections from Alley Cat. Alley Cat had not yet applied for a new county license, which expired at the end of April.

Eight apartments were destroyed in the Hickory Hills condo complex in Bel Air. All of the residents escaped without injury. Damage to the building and its contents were estimated at $1.5 million.

The restriction against cell phones in the courthouse was lifted. Devices must be turned off inside courtrooms during official proceedings and may not be used by jurors in the deliberation room.

A Harford County Sheriff's deputy was arrested for allegedly taking payments from a Baltimore repossession company, Final Notice Location and Recovery, for providing personal information about vehicle owners. He was charged with bribery, running a theft scheme, willfully distributing a valid National Crime Information Center codes and malfeasance in office.

Cook Volkswagen in Fallston is looking to expand their vehicle storage lot for their Route 1 dealership. They plan to pave an undeveloped north-facing parcel adjacent to the dealership and create 71 spaces for vehicle storage.

Soda bottle bombs were set off on Harford Day School property. Three Bel Air teenagers were charged, no injuries or property damage was reported.

Bel Air Town officials are considering closing Office Street along the courthouse and turning it into a pedestrian walkway. This would only be done in consultation with the county. The possible improvement project, if approved, would take place during the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Approximately 100 local runners turned out at Charm City Run in Bel Air to run in honor of the victims of last year's bombing at the Boston Marathon. Running retailers across the country held similar runs.

The Board of Zoning Appeals approved the special petition to build an animal crematorium on the 77.5 acre Nash Farm on Heaps Road in Street.

About 600 residents joined to support 2013 March for Babies along Route 23 in Forest Hill, raising in excess of $100,000 to improve and protect the health of infants. This is the largest fundraiser for the March of Dimes.

A bobcat mascot sculpture honoring Bel Air High's late football coach, Albert "Al" Cesky, was unveiled on the grounds of Bel Air High School. Money for the sculpture was donated by more than 100 people, including alumni who played football for Cesky in the 1950s and 1960s.

Baltimore radio personality Ed Norris was injured in a traffic accident in northern Harford County. He was listed in serious condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. Norris was driving a motorcycle and was injured when he swerved to avoid colliding with a box truck at the intersection of Routes 1 and 161 in Darlington.

Freddie's Bar & Grill on Boulton Street behind the Harford Mall closed. A conflict in ownership was cited as the reason for the close.